Liontamer

Sean Tartaglia SRW Alpha/OG1/OGs Timbre and Its Changes Time Diver Takuya Hanaoka (as a member of Salamander Factory) (He wrote the original Alpha version, which was arranged a few times after that, so to cover my bases I'm providing all three available versions) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7eWeCaKQ-0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUcPcSpTBFA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXrJgMGMOIo (The version that led me to write this arrangement was the GBA OG1 version, but I think they're all close enough to each other they might as well all be credited, since I tend to think of them all as the same track in the end.) ________ This one was a spur of the moment decision that I needed to just put out quick (I started on the 14th and finalized everything by the 19th, spending the rest of the time double checking the mix :p). I was dumping MIDI sequences from the GBA games and I was taken with a certain quality of the opening of the track that came off differently compared to the OGs and Alpha versions I'm more used to. Years ago I played the dreamcast version of Alpha (with the godforsaken loadtimes on EVERY SINGLE BATTLE ANIMATION) on original hardware, and I played OGs the moment I could emulate PS2 games (I wasn't modding a ps2 back then), so when I thought about all of the versions, I realized that I hadn't bothered playing the original GBA games for more than 15 years at this point. Not that they're bad, but the older handhelds are harder to sit through these days, especially so for OG1/2 after we recently just got the PS2 OGs ENG fan translation (which I'm replaying alongside the great translation we finally got for W). Because of this, I wanted to go back and see how they sequenced a lot of these tracks in the GBA comparison to the original versions of these tracks I knew well from the original versions, and I honestly really liked how this track was sequenced in the game. It was between this and Fallen White Angel, Excellen's theme, since both have earworm openings, but I had a very strong idea of what I wanted to do with Time Diver, whereas my initial thoughts with the other were a bit too close to the OGs arrangement. Basically, once something enters my head, it sticks with me until I exorcise it by making it happen. If that was too much already, when it comes to talking about what I write, I'm long winded, bear with me here. Part of this track's reason for existing is just conceit. I really wanted to start cutting my teeth with FM and FM adjacent synth, and this allowed for me a place to work with it; after all, why wouldn't a time dive sound like FM? Around the last few months I was listening to a lot of the FM VERTEX compilations, because one of my favorite vgm composers, Toshiya Yamanaka, contributed tracks (among others... Yack. is on there, of course, but Masahiro Kajihara's track, "Pathos," is incredibly good, as is Saori Kobayashi's "Golden Blvd. 1992" on vol. II), and it brought me back to that sound I always wanted to work with, but never had the synth knowledge to really do, especially since FM is a notoriously finicky method, with the standout music being associated with "specialist" composer-programmers (Ryu Umemoto, Tim Follin, etc.) It's not full FM, there's certain sounds I want that I can't quite get with either FM or subtractive synthesis alone—at least with my current skillset—which is where I use Xenfont's subtractive synthesis to combine some soundfonts made from FM synthesis and shape the sound to a certain thing I want, then layer it with FM patches for a final effect. Maybe it's more like an arcade game where I can make use of FM and PCM than something like the Genesis where I'm limited by memory. I used Xen-FMTS 2 and Xenfont for everything. Owing to their intended use for experimental and microtonal music, I get more complex and interesting timbres from these in comparison to other FM synthesizers through being able to alter tunings and having the option to emphasize certain partials over others. All the leads and chorus guitar are built from samples mixed via xenfont, which I treat like a poor man's D-50. For the leads I chose this method over FM because twisting soundfonts into new sounds via ring modulation deteriorates the signal quality, creating very interesting sounds comprised of wild transients and disintegrating waveforms. Layering two different types of sounds like this also leads to different registers having completely different timbral and tonal qualities; for example, a lead might have a thin, nasaly wasp tone around C5, but above C6 it might start to break up and produce unstable bell tones that have no sustain. When you layer two leads and the upper one has these properties, then all of these qualities cause it to weave in and out of the harmonic texture in what I think is an interesting way. Pads are purely FM, and bass is a mix of both methods, but the the drums are the most complex, layering both types, as well as raw samples, in six parts. Two general midi drum kits (power and dance) were combined together, run through ring modulation, and filtered to get that ping-pongy sound. These form the upper layer, sitting above Alesis HR-16 samples, which I mostly use for the kicks, closed hats, and sidestick. The fourth, fifth and sixth are metallic tones that replicate cymbals, which, due to the complex operator algorithms and tonal modulation of tunings in Xen-FMTS 2, allows for a variety of ride, bell, and splash tones by mixing various timbres found via various pitch parameters, and they can even be used as inharmonic pads. All of these are separated prior to being sent to their FX channel, where I crush the signal to get a sound akin to sampling drums on a yamaha chip, though with a bit more memory space. Aside from some slight reverb and delay, I wanted to do all on board FX for these, since the Xen synths have robust chorus and flanging options that work better with the final sounds than exterior FX plugins, which seem to muddy the mix more... though that's most likely more due to my limited mixing prowess. I've written computer/MIDI music before, but I consider that much different, since we tend to work with samples and sounds that, to some degree, attempt to replicate instruments or voices; however, this sort of music where we work with new, synthesized sounds, and all of the ways you can manipulate them throughout the process of composition, arrangement and mixing, is new for me. I've been working on these patches for a few months, using MIDI tracks as testbeds, basically treating it like running them through a rompler up until now, and while I'll probably keep tweaking them, I think they're doing the job here. Perhaps I got a bit too carried away with the portamento, but I wanted to try to recreate certain qualities I liked about Watanabe's leads in Border Down and Senko no Ronde, while focusing on the qualities I like in a tone, namely accentuating of the airiness of the higher harmonic partials, as well as dense, complex harmonic textures. Hopefully those qualities are apparent in the leads, and I was successful there, at the very least. Anyway, some comments on the work itself: The melodic line is pretty much all that I kept from the original track. The harmonic content is similar, but most of what accompanies the line is new. Sometimes if I'm working with something, I like to get the score itself and work with the material as is, like you would when arranging a piece of music for a different instrumentation, but here, because the entirety of the track was already in my head after years of listening to it, I sang it and transcribed that. That keeps the core material the same, but alters the interpretation of it, like in the study, practice, and performance of any piece of music. Michael Finnissy likes to talk about that distinction between arrangement and transcription, where the assumption of the musical material into one's head and then putting it back out creates something new, distinct from what it was... in essence, the same material, but in a new form, like in the opera transcriptions of Liszt or Chopin, where they write in response to the listening to, and their memory of, the music in performance. It makes all the difference in the end. The original is pretty brisk—the MIDI sequence I dumped from the GBA version clocks in at around 140bpm—but when I reinterpreted it, the melody felt a bit more languid... a bit more forlorn (if I were to imply something about Ingram as a character). The result sits at around 127-128bpm, but features sections where the time lowers to around 119. It's a bit more bittersweet than the aggression found in the original. Perhaps because of this, for some reason, in the reinterpretation it felt like going straight to that chorus section was too soon, so I ended up altering the form from the opening riff-verse-prechorus-chorus-opening riff-verse-prechorus-chorus... of the original track with a opening-verse-break-verse-prechorus-chorus-outro The longer opening and break add what I think is more tension to the track, and fits well with the slower, moodier quality of the melody. The opening itself has different notes, but retains the same F#-E-F# motif, so despite being different, you should be able to identify it. Again, the melody is the same, with certain rhythmic alterations and some extra ornamentation added. Overall, when I really look back at it, it just feels like it should work this way, with the chorus being used as the climax of the track itself, especially since the track isn't looping (though you can loop the outro back into the verse sections very easily). I actually was a bit concerned about this initially, because I felt like not repeating after the chorus, yet repeating the verses twice, was only really working with half of the composition; however, the verse is my favorite part of the original track—I love how the profile of that line flows—and the chorus is more like a resolution of it to me, so I decided this structure was best for my own personal interpretation; though, it's not really up for me to say if it worked in the end. Often you're too emotionally or philosophically or mechanically invested in something to the point that you tend to not see if it was actually a success or not, and that's when it comes down to someone one else to determine it. As always, we'll see later... I'm happy to have done my part. As for the name, I'm not good with track names, so there's an Exivious reference there I guess.

Belltone at :09 & :20 that accented things sounded off-key, so I was wondering if that meant more stuff would be iffy later; I'd say it comes off enough like a sound needing to be tuned with the rest of the music that you should change it. The claps at :41 were too dry and upfront, and the sequencing was feeling too stiff, particularly the strings at 1:13. I did like the personalization of the theme though, this just needs more fluidity. Same with the guitar at 1:34, it's just too stiff and exposed. Agreed with prophetik that the ending felt too abrupt. This is fair and pretty much where I fell on this. Great personalization ideas, just needs more polish, with a lot of more minor things adding up rather than any singular glaring problems. If you can humanize some of the timings and fashion a genuine ending, that would go the longest toward tightening this up, but, provided you still have the source files and the desire, please see what you can do about everything that's been critiqued. Good base here, Damon! NO (resubmit)

Not gonna belabor the point. Great combination of the themes, with FF9 taking the lead. Loads of dynamic contrast through the instrumentation and textural changes. Strings in the first half felt a bit behind, but not in a way that dinged the piece or made anything questionable. Strong stuff for the compo! YES

Speedy lil' thing, this one; hoping that means lots of substance is packed into the short runtime, since the intro until :47 felt repetitive. Soundscape was also on the dry side (just an observation, rather than an issue). After the redux of the main verse at :59, I was disappointed to just hear the melody play through several more times with only some minor ornamentation and doubling going on; it's not feeling like a substantial enough transformation. Basically an ABABA format, but once you get to :59, you've effectively heard the whole piece, so the development's too limited. The additions to the textures were subtle enough that they didn't make a meaningful difference in the presentation. If the source files are still available, consider adding more to the textures or changing the instrumentation from verse to verse, or getting more interpretive and/or varied with the composition of the melody and chrous. There are loads of ways you can further develop this piece without feeling like you're drastically overhauling it, and, provided you weren't uninterested in revisiting this, I trust your abilities to handle it. It's got a good energy to it, Spad3s, and it's great to hear from you again! NO (resubmit)

Man, there ain't nothin' to this theme. OK, it's a mood loop, cool; should make identifying the source usage a cakewalk. Also makes it easy to see where this arrangement pivots, which I assume will be Rebecca adding herbs and spices. /listens Yep, cool! I wished the bowed strings were more melodious rather than tense, but that's just a personal taste thing. I also wonder why the soundscape sounds muddier than expected, not that the mixing was a dealbreaker issue. Otherwise, this is cool. Good personalized instrumentation and more textural evolution than the source tune. I enjoyed the second half more as it felt more playful and varied, and I do hear the SimCity influence. I enjoyed! YES

Apologies, Janet; it'll come off as me hating the track; quoting prophetik to co-sign his POV. This is totally fine as an ambient soundscape with subtle textural changes, but it's not a substantive arrangement of Freya's theme. This would need some melodious content to more overtly tie to it to the source theme. Cool in a vacuum, but it can't pass our arrangement standards for identifiable and dominant usage of the source material. Been a Children of the Monkey Machine fan since I was a newbie fan; we're open to avant garde stuff... as long as the other aspects of the Standards with the arrangement and production are met. NO

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

We have a request from Teo to clarify the comments for improvement (their letter below): Hi, I saw on your website to appreciate e-mail this address if I'd like clarification or to reconsider a judge decision about a submission. I'm T.O. Bassett - I submitted an arrangement of Death by Glamour (from Undertale), by the name of "Everyone Craves (Death By Glamour), in January. The judging thread can be found here: https://ocremix.org/community/topic/52239 The submission was rejected, a few days ago, but I'm honestly very confused about why it was, as the posts in the judging thread seemed conflicted about the reason for rejection, including some rather bewilderingly incorrect information about the arrangement. I'd like to ask if it would be possible to reconsider the decision after correcting this information, or at least some conclusive information about what the problem is. I apologise that the following is quite long, but, because of that, I wanted to be as clear as I possibly can about what I would like to address about it. First of all, I do really appreciate the kind words that you all had about this - particularly as you all seemed to like the guitar work a lot. This is something that I'd like to use a lot more in the future. I promise that I don't intend this to be an insult to any of the judges, and I apologise if it comes across this way, but I've read through the judging thread several times and I have to admit that I'm struggling to get much information out of it that I could use for improvement, because a lot of it seems conflicting and opinions on exactly what is wrong seem to vary a lot. I'll touch on a few of the minor points, but I'll focus mainly on the summary that I was given in the e-mail, in that the two things holding it back were the "unrealistic" samples and repetitiveness. -I admit that I feel that the repetitiveness of the track was greatly exaggerated. One judge even claimed that they overlayed all of the verse/chorus rounds and found that they're identical, which is absolutely not the case, because I recorded them all by hand with different instrumentation and made sure that I never used a pattern more than once, aside from some of the backing rhythm work in the guitar, bass, horns, and violas (the only other things that were "copied and pasted" were the drums, and I even made sure to change those up every time I copied a pattern from a previous verse); and the short post-chorus orchestra section that only features twice. I even asked for the opinions of several musicians and non-musicians afterwards and they agreed that they could plainly hear the differences between all of the sections. --The second verse (2:30-2:57) replaces some parts of the orchestra with a glockenspiel, and adds some call-and-response from the percussion section, mostly the timpani and piatti. ---One embarrassment that I'll concede to is that, at some point, I apparently managed to add one or two of those call-and-response patterns back into the first verse, which wasn't intentional but has also gone unnoticed in over a year since releasing this track publicly, so I didn't think it important enough to re-release it with that changed. The entire album is two and a half hours long and took five years from start to release, so a few mistakes crept in that I felt were minor in the context of the whole album. --The second pre-chorus (2:57-3:25) switches the dynamic between the guitar and orchestra and has the guitar playing the lead with the orchestra backing it up, as opposed to the orchestra in the first pre-chorus (through violins, violas, flutes, trumpets, and horns) playing the lead while the guitar fills out the sound through rhythm and chords. --The second chorus (3:25-3:52) builds on the percussion from the first chorus by taking the way that the drum kit built up in the first chorus and expanding on that (the first chorus features only hats and rim shots before building lightly by adding kicks, and the second chorus starts from that point and builds more dramatically by changing to more complex, breakbeat-inspired kick and snare rhythms. The e-piano is also introduced, playing high, broken chords to lead into the keys solo afterwards. --The post-chorus (3:52-4:06) is the same as the first one, but I don't feel that it's long enough to feel too repetitive and serves as vital tension release for the quieter chorus. Removing it and jumping straight into the keys solo after the second chorus would have felt disappointing. --The third pre-chorus (5:36-6:04) was written to be similar to the second one, just re-recorded to not be a cut-and-paste job, as leading to an ending here would have been anticlimactic. However, the final chorus (6:04-6:31) is vastly different from the others and I'm particularly confused about how that went unnoticed. The percussion section is entirely changed to match the energy of the verses, much more of the orchestra joins the chords than just the horns and violas in previous choruses, and the guitar in the lead plays a completely different countermelody to the previous chorus melody. I do appreciate that the flute was at least noticed there, and yes, I admit that I had some trouble mixing that in after switching from EWQLSO to Berlin Woodwinds, as the library is much more realistic and versatile but also much quieter. --The ending (6:31-end) only lingers on the post-chorus section for a few seconds before the guitar continues in another short solo, leading to an end that I intentionally wanted to match to the original track to match how abruptly Mettaton runs out of steam at the end of the boss fight. --This will be more subjective, but I'd also like to mention that the length of the track is an artistic choice to match the style of music that I'm fitting it into; the album as a whole is a symphony and progressive rock work made with the sensibilities of a live album recording and a story-based symphony, and prog rock and live rock performances are generally known for longer, improvised works. The structure and length are also meant to represent Mettaton's character and the structure of this particular boss fight, as Mettaton demands that the spotlight stays on him more than anyone else while the human is essentially trying to take it from him. I feel that rejecting music based on a common artistic quality of a particular genre may lead to stifling self-expression, and there are many classic and influential albums that would be rejected, were they subjected to the same standard. --Overall, I don't feel that anything regarding the length of the arrangement goes against OCRemix's submission standards guide, as all points under the Arrangement section are met, and all melodies apart from the solo sections are easily recognisable from the source material. -The claim of unrealistic samples is going to be much harder to refute because there isn't much that I can say that doesn't boil down to "I don't think that they are", but... I honestly don't think that they are. I originally wrote an entire version of the album using East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra, because it was all that I had, but orchestra libraries have come an extremely long way since then, so I shelled out to replace that with a combination of Cinematic Studio Strings/Brass/Piano, Berlin Woodwinds, Berlin Percussion, and Audio Imperia Nucleus to fill out any gaps. I then completely rewrote the album from the ground up to accommodate those new libraries, as simply slapping them into place on the original tracks wouldn't have worked at all. During this re-recording, I recorded each of the instruments or instrument sections manually through a weighted MIDI keyboard and then added keyswitch articulations manually afterwards, making sure to use every articulation that was available to me at least once in order to learn and showcase them. This is the first time that anyone has said that it doesn't sound realistic, and I've received some comments before from people who were surprised to learn that it wasn't a live orchestra. --I feel that rejection based on the quality of the string section library is not consistent with the OCR submission standards guide. While I'm still unsure about how they sound "unrealistic", the standards guide only says that sampled elements must be "reasonably sophisticated", which I'm sure you can agree is exceeded in this arrangement. --I refute the claim that I used no articulations in the orchestra through the track. In the strings alone, I used staccato, staccatissimo, spiccato, marcato, varying legato and slide transitions, and trills, and also made constant use of the library's mod wheel capabilities to vary the dynamics. --The claim of the "fake-sounding guitar" at 4:33 in particular took me completely by surprise. It was never intended to be a guitar in the first place, and isn't played in any way similar to how a guitar would be. It's an electronic organ run through an amplifier and distortion rig, something that's very common in both 70s/80s rock music and progressive rock. One of my favourite things to write is tradeoff solos between guitar and keys players. The track's been heard thousands of times since I finished it, and, as far as anyone has said, this is the first time that anyone has interpreted it as anything else. After reading this, I went back to ask for other people's opinions on what they thought that the instrument was, without telling them what it was, and everyone that I asked said that it was either an organ or a synth. No one thought that it was meant to be a guitar. Why would I use a real guitar through the entire track and then suddenly switch to a poor imitation of one for thirty seconds before going back to the real one? -I'd also like to touch on comments about the mixing. I will say that yes, I'm much better at the composing and playing side than the mixing side, and this is a much more minor point than the others, but I'd like to make two points about that: --This is a point that's difficult to make without the context of the rest of the album, but the album is primarily a symphonic work with progressive rock influences, and the "band" side of the rest of the album is much more minor. As such, I intentionally mixed it to be heavily focused on the orchestra. This includes the panning - I noted some comments about "strange" panning choices in the lead orchestra instruments, but they're panned naturally to match the typical orchestra layout that they were originally recorded in, as it felt far more uncomfortable to me for the layout of the orchestra to suddenly change between tracks. The only exception in this arrangement is the guitar, because I wanted the guitar to represent Mettaton's "it's all about me" attitude and be trying to take the spotlight for most of the arrangement. --Specifically because of my own ear for mixing, I was constantly seeking opinions on how the mixing sounded through the whole process of writing the album. After a lot of tweaks, I was told by many different people that the state of the mix sounded good at this point, so I'm very surprised to hear that some of the judges seem to think that it's that bad. The only thing that I personally wasn't too happy with was how the timpani didn't have as much impact as in the EWQLSO version. In the worst case, I can resubmit with a "radio edit" version that I made that merges the first and second verse/chorus rounds, and I suppose maybe remove the "Last Episode" intro because that seems to be a big point of contention and was just meant to lead in from the previous track on the album. I'd be disappointed that it's missing some of the nuance in the way that those sections build up, and the transition to the second verse at 2:28 that I'm particularly happy with. Admittedly, after working for five years on getting this album released, I'm a bit exhausted by the idea of redoing it yet again, but I do want to work with the OCR team to have a version that you would accept, as has been a goal of mine for about the last fifteen years. However, I would like to ask you to at least reconsider the decision, first, as I'm concerned that the points that I was given as reasons for rejection aren't consistent with the OCRemix Submissions and Standards Instructions that I read before choosing which track to submit. While I understand that standards rise as technology does, and that OCRemix wants to maintain high standards as such a long-running aggregator of video game arrangements, I'm also concerned that the reasons that I was rejected point to an unfeasibly high standard to maintain. This is part of an album that was requested by Toby Fox to be released through Materia Collective and Fangamer as part of the game's fifth anniversary. Those plans unfortunately fell through due to Covid-19 and I released it separately, later, but (and I promise that I'm trying to word this without sounding like I have any kind of ego), it's surprising to me that the album would be good enough for all three of those parties but not for OCRemix. Once again, I apologise for how long this e-mail is, but thank you very much for your time. Thank you, -T.O. Bassett

The opening soundscape sounds crunchy from :49-on when it's just meant to sound crystalline. The bowed strings until 2:04 actually felt like they were needlessly crowding the soundscape, so I was glad when they dropped out. 2:26 shifted into an awkward chippy lead, and texture felt too lopsided toward that, feeling pretty empty until 2:54. I'm getting a lot of high-end sizzle, but not clarity and sharpness with these textures. The phasing lines from 3:39 were crowding out other stuff, and the soundscape genuinely felt very messy until around 5:24. I get how it's tied into the track's title and gimmick; it was initially unpleasent listening to the "Compression of Time" melody de-sync for such an extended period of time with the countermelody until 4:10, but I got used to it and appreciate that part of the gimmick. Something about how this is piece is mixed causing the parts to sound abrasive, competing with each other to be heard, and lacking synergy instead of gluing together, and it's apparent for me as early as :54. Very awkward, abrupt addition of beefy kicks & claps at 5:05 that I'm assuming was intentional while feeling like a sloppy mistake. I listened to the reference tracks, but I'm admittedly not understanding where this all connects stylistically. The ending section at 6:07 was a beautiful, extended winddown where you could really bask in the sound design; opening the soundscape back up was a help, and the strings were a highlight there. The loop point was also a nice idea. Obviously, Wes knows how to make good music, and I like the arrangement in a vacuum, so it'll feel like I'm not giving him grace on some stylistic choices. Production-wise, this had some similar mixing issues with his recent DKC submission that he later ended up revising; the levels during the most intense areas were too hot and need to be pulled back, and the overall mixing is actually undermining the writing and textures, IMO. I apologize at my inability to isolate and describe the issues. It may take someone more knowledgeable to articulate what can be done about this in a way that Wes can work with. No matter what, I'm a stickler. Until we receive a more balanced mixing of this that lets the parts breathe and interact with synergy, I be a stickler. [sic] NO (resubmit) EDIT (11/9): Being right can be a curse sometimes. ;-D If I can be a dad or judgevet for a minute, if you can be honest with yourself, it's easier to then be honest with other people. Even though Wes is my friend and colleague, I wouldn't have gone to the trouble of being anything less than honest and forthcoming with my critiques. Mixing's on point now, so let's go! YES

The opening beats that faded in sounded on the weaker side, but I did immediately like the overall energy behind this. I'm not sure what about this mixing isn't working; right now, the clubby beats are so much louder over the melody, though it can be a stylistic thing. The quick transition at 1:38 was kind of awkward, but still OK in my opinion. I didn't mind the downward key change at all. Nice extended SFX from 1:39-1:59, though I wish you didn't use it verbatim again at 2:49, as that was a great spot to present that same kind of warbling sound effects idea with some differences. By 2:18 though, I'm thinking you've got to vary up these 90's style club beats, they're dragging out with their writing being so repetitive during all of the verses, which was undermining the dyanmic contrast you were otherwise attempting with your textures and SFX. The club approach is very cool, Karim, and well in the right direction of handling this source tune with personalized interpretation. However, as the other judges have said, you need more variation in the writing and textures; I'm confident you can do it, my friend! NO (resubmit)

Wow. Opens up way too loud, compressed, and distorted. 20 seconds in, this is unfortunately already a guaranteed NO on production, which is a shame. Lots of shrill, piercing synths, and then even a moment from 1:22-1:24 of exposed beats and claps that feels like General MIDI stuff. When I say this, it'll sound like I hated the track or that I think you have no shot at future success; I'm merely evaluating what I hear now rather than your future potential. This has loads of energy, just 0 effort given to mix or balance this, and I'm channeling Gordon Ramsey when I say the way it's currently produced sounds absolutely dreadful. It's clear this wasn't listened to on any headphones before submitting this. Even with such a high encoding (274kbps), this sounds like a 64kbps encoding. I appreciate prophetik being able to drill down on the arrangement. It's not often that MindWanderer and I BOTH appear to be in the dismissive camp; it's difficult to even begin to closely analyze the writing, when the way this is mixed is so difficult to listen to. Not much to be done here, Max, even with a potential overhaul, but prophetik's advice can be applied to future tracks, and there's still value in this as a learning experience, especially one that you can look back on down the line to appreciate your progression. If you're not using our Post Your Game ReMixes forum and/or #workshop channel in our Discord for feedback, you're doing yourself a disservice. Please avail yourself of those resources, dust yourself off, and keep at it! NO

Opens with some decent heft, although the lead synth sounds kind of flimsy, then gradually gets steamrolled by the rising volume of the beat from :24 until :36. Machine-gun beats from :51-:53 didn't sound good. After the transition at :55, the countermelody sounds off-key for every 3rd and 4th bar per measure until changing the writing at 1:43 (and not from 1:22-1:26). Slight slowdown leading into 1:58 transitioning back to the source's intro. From 1:11-1:43, the more sustained string-like synth leads sound somewhat shrill and locked to grid, which undermined the flow of the piece. Yipes, that sweep from 2:05-2:20 started off so abrasive; save my old man ears! Aw man, back to the off-key countermelodic writing from 2:29-3:01; this stuff is relatively minor, but it's there enough that it becomes a dealbreaker because of how often it's there. proph and MW are saying the piece isn't transformative enough. I don't mind what's here being melodically conservative as long as there are enough aspects of interpretive arrangement involved. To me, this is going well in the right direction with beefed up textures and additive writing compared to the 8-bit original. To me, this is a reasonable sound upgrade with some additional ideas, but just needs further development and variation (along with rewriting the clashing countermelody mentioned before). Good potential here on this one as well, Karim. Once again (same as your Tetris piece), keep developing this, and don't submit it again until after you get feedback from either the Post Your Game ReMixes forum or the #workshop channel in the OCR Discord server. This one is also a strong foundation, Karim; I would hope that you're not discouraged by this rejection as much as enthused by the positive comments. NO (resubmit)

Not that often that I'd just quote and concur, but prophetik's summarized this very well; this is too repetitive and plodding, and would need to do more to stand apart from the original track. We do have plenty of more melodically conservative arrangements [e.g. https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04414 and all the other OC ReMixes linked in the writeup's second (non-quote) paragraph], but their sounds are more personalized and varied than this arrangement's approach. At 2:40, Adrian, you've essentially heard it all, and the first 2:40 was essentially a close cover adapted for this soundset, but without much further development or interpretation. I'd definitely recommend comparing recent OC ReMixes of themes that you're familiar with to get a sense of the aspects of interpretation we're looking for. NO

I never heard the first version, so I'm hearing this fresh for the first time. Some sort of audio artifact going on right at the start, I guess some SFX that was taken from your YouTube video version. Very odd mixing here, where the brass and strings were way softer and more distant than the electro synths, but the soundscape thankfully clears up after the transition at :30. The beats and countermelodic synths at :38 were a pretty basic sound. 1:08-1:23's chorus section was more interesting, but again had strange mixing. Seemed like the panning was focused on the right ear for no real reason as well. I did like the bouncing chippy line in that segment though, that was a nice touch. 1:23 went back to the same verse idea, then 1:53's chorus section had some different textures, then a transition into more orchestration until 2:23. The thumping beats at 2:24 were still too basic and plodding. I liked the garbled robotic vocals at 2:23; it wasn't important what they were saying. The "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" used from 2:40-3:03 & 3:15-3:25 could be cool, but it's the same exact shout at the same intensity looped over and over again; I'd recommend using different types of effects on the "Hey" shouts to give them an evolving sound that doesn't sound so repetitive. The gradual tempo acceleration was a nice touch though, followed by the deceleration. The boom-tss-boom-tss cadence of most of the beat writing got too plodding after a while; keep thinking of ways to naturally and fluidly vary up the beat patterns without feeling the need to make it too busy. Keep developing this, and don't submit it again until after you get feedback from either the Post Your Game ReMixes forum or the #workshop channel in the OCR Discord server. This is a strong foundation, Karim; I would hope that you're not as discouraged by another rejection as much as enthused by the positive comments from all of us on how this is a meaningful improvement from the prior version. NO (resubmit)

This source tune actually doesn't sound very melodious, though I chock that up to this instrument set. Not a bad jazzy cover here. Pretty fakey instrumentation (really, all of the extra dry DarkeSax), but still a legitimate sound upgrade over the original, and the bassline even cuts through more. At a lower volume, you can't tell the drums are distorting, but at a full volume, you hear it. I don't mind the drumkit as much, just the way it distorts, as the writing's awesome. The gliding line first heard at :11 didn't have quite the right tone, or at least the presense, for example when it was handling the chorus at :55 and trading off with the guitar. 1:08 felt like it was repreating :14's section, and really the track felt like it was going through 2 1/2 iterations of theme with minor textural changes, but the overall level of interpretation and personalization was substantive enough that I was still OK with the treatment of the theme. The writing is strong and energetic throughout. prophetik music gave much more granular critique on what could stand to be touched up. To me, if you can just give the sampled saxophone a less exposed, more sophisticated sound, then this would have my vote. Would love to ensure the drums didn't distort, but that would be more of a nice-to-have. Enjoyable base here, Sean! NO (resubmit)

I'd argue the core beat from 1:48-2:58 & 3:27-3:57 was too repetitive, with the core snare shot almost always at the exact same intensity, which exposed the sample. I thought the tone of the rigidly-timed guitar synth (e.g. 3:19) was off-putting and that the flimsy orch stabs (e.g. 3:35-3:42) made the track sound cheap. The texture from 3:44-4:20 felt too simplistic because the drumming left so much empty space in the background. Then distortion city from 4:45-5:18; too noisy, too crunchy, too unpleasant to listen to, especially for the finish. I understand how it was meant to sound overdriven, but it doesn't work. I like much of the arrangement approach. However, I'm farther away from approving this than the other Js, because I didn't feel this was a close call, even though I agree this has potential. Though I like many of the electrosynths used, some of the previously mentioned instrumentation needs further sophistication, and the mixing for the closing section in particular was a mess. It's obviously you've put in a significant amount of time into learning arrangement, Tachy, and the level of interpretation's certainly well in the right direction. I just mentioned this for another submission; if you're not getting feedback from the #workshop channel in the community Discord or the Post Your Game ReMixes forum, please gather more feedback and advice to help refine your future work. NO (resubmit)

Nice sound upgrade to this to start, but then the switch to the drumkit and bass guitar at :18 doesn't have synergy with the synths. By :45, I was wondering when we'd hit a different part of the source theme. At :55, there's another textural change, but these instruments don't gel together. At 1:12, the bass guitar's playing too low (and the combination with the fading pad makes it sound off-key) and the clap groove sounds super default-y. OK, briefly back to the nicer sounding groove at 1:35, and then the drumkit from :18 coming back again at 1:44, and this is definitely underdeveloped. prophetik broke down how this drumkit sound doesn't fit, and, to me, most of these textures don't even click. Once you get to 1:35, Troy, you've essentially heard all the substance there is. Unfortunately, nothing here yet is beyond a work-in-progress level of development or cohesiveness. If you're not getting feedback from the #workshop channel in the community Discord or Post Your Game ReMixes forum, please gather more feedback and advice to help refine your future work. I really liked the very start, but this needs a lot more arrangement substance, textural cohesion, and mixing polish. Good source tune choice, with some areas that sounded nice here, but this would need a significant revision to adequately develop this. NO

https://ocremix.org/torrents - says the FF4 album torrent has 35 seeders. It sounds like you had no luck using the torrent link from that page?

Full of energy; just a big sound and a driving tempo for some effective urgency. Nice job, Jari! YES

Short and sweet, not a big fan of this source theme because of how formless it feels, even though it's a straightforward melody, so I really appreciate how Zack & co.'s version has more of an overt direction! Great instrumentation and performances, awesome soundscapes. YES

Alright, from 1:08-1:49, it's just too loud, that's wild that the volume would spike that high. Yeezus. Alright, so the volume's making me go back to the all-important question: If the source files were lost, and the track couldn't be revised, would I still turn this down. The answer's no, so I'd YES if the arrangement side was on point. 1:56 repeats :13's section with a cut-and-paste; I didn't even mind it that much, but the the build-up to the chorus at 2:37 was still a wholesale repeat, it made the track feel underdeveloped. There were at least some differences with the SFX from 3:05-3:18. Great base here, Jordan! Loads of strong, punchy sound design, even if my old man ears got battered. Love the interpretation and personalization of the theme, but after 1:56, there's almost no further development. More variation of any sort in the second half to move it up from being a 95% rinse-and-repeat will seal the deal! NO (resubmit) EDIT (10/10): More could still be done to have the second iteration of the verse stand apart from the first, but I'm on board with the edits and the sum total of what's there given the expansive treatment. YES

Your ReMixer name: ThePlasmas Your real name: Mauricio Castro Your email address: Your website(s): https://linktr.ee/theplasmasvgm Your userid: 30081 Name of game(s) arranged: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter Name of arrangement: Catacumbas Subterraneas Name of individual song(s) arranged: In The Catacombs Additional information about the game: Darren Mitchell, N64. Link to the original soundtrack: https://darrenmitchell.bandcamp.com/album/turok-the-dinosaur-hunter-original-n64-soundtrack Your own comments about the mix: I spent too much time playing this in my childhood, so that's why I needed to record a version of this song, in my style, adding melodies, powerful guitars and trying to keep the atmosphere the fifth level had. This song was recorded to participate in the "Summer of 64" event produced by GameGrooves, available here: https://theplasmasvgm.bandcamp.com/album/64-ways-to-die

Original Decision Hello everyone, Hello Larry, I would like to send back my tetris remix which was refused on February 20. I reworked the song, the dynamics, the compression and its duration. Thanks for the second chance. Link to my resubmission : Re Mixer : Onirik Dreamer real name : Karim Ajroud email : website : https://onirikdreamer.com Link of vidéoclip : user id : 38210 Name of game arranged : Tetris (Gameboy) Name of original track : theme A (Alexei pajitnov/arranger Hirokazu Tanaka) Name of my track : Crazy Tetrominos Additional information about game : 1989 Link to the original soundtrack : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whBg7IF5JUg Your own comments about the mix : I wanted to make a more energetic and electronic version of this legendary theme while keeping the general atmosphere of the original track.

Aww yeah, The MM3 Intro! Wav: Contact Information Your ReMixer name - PsyNES Your real name - Jari Your email address - Your website - https://soundcloud.com/psynes Your userid - 20309 Submission Information Name of game(s) arranged - Mega Man 3 Name of arrangement - The Blue Bomber Name of individual song(s) arranged - Mega Man 3 Intro Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. This time I have a Mega Man 3 intro remix for you all, in the usual style of PsyNES, which is PsyTrance, NES chiptune stuff and sometimes some Hard NRG/Freeform mixed together. Mega Man 3 is one of my first games I ever played and probably completed as well, it is also my favorite Mega Man game, so it has a special place in my heart. The soundtrack is awesome too, which has inspired me to try remixing all the songs in it, so hopefully more are coming soon. I can't say for sure when I first started doing this remix, since I lost my old versions when my HDD died. First version that I thought was good enough to share with everyone seems to be January 2015 when I uploaded it to my SoundCloud. I did have a video version of this on my Youtube too, but I unlisted it because I want an updated and better version of this in there. Like always, this is made with Renoise and a bunch of VSTs and NES samples etc.